Roan Plateau

The Roan Plateau, located in western Colorado, USA, near Rifle, contains a variety of natural resources and scenic terrain: high ridges, deep valleys, desert lands, waterfalls, cutthroat trout, mountain lions, bears, rare plants, and oil and natural gas. On September 25, 2008, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image of the region through nearly cloud-free skies.

In this natural-color image the Roan Plateau assumes shades of green, brown, and beige, and deep canyons form branching, tree-like patterns on the landscape, and desert lands in the portions west of Meeker, Craig, and Rifle. Irrigation enables crops to thrive in this largely arid environment, evidenced by the relative greenness of the orchards and lawns around Grand Junction, Colorado. West of Rifle, the high desert terrain begins. Small towns of Battlement Mesa, Parachute, and De Beque are all high desert terrain. The land of Grand Junction and all around the city is pale beige, and has high desert terrain. This desert landscape extends west and southwest into Utah, and north across the roan plateau, and into Wyoming. The desert land also extends southeast through Whitewater, Delta, Olathe, and Montrose, and then the desert lands end as you pass the Montrose area. East of Grand Junction, however, Grand Mesa (partially obscured by clouds) is well-forested with conifers.

The dramatic changes in elevation throughout the Roan Plateau provide habitat to many of the area’s wild species which, combined with the landscape, are popular attractions for hikers, four-wheelers, and wildlife enthusiasts.